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2017 McLaren 570GT KBB Expert Review

A lot of car manufacturers claim Formula 1 racing heritage, but McLaren may have the strongest in modern times. It has been less than a decade since McLaren made the jump from pure race cars to high-end exotics for consumers, but in that short time it has produced some of the world's most desirable high-dollar exotics. That applies equally to the 2017 McLaren 570S and more luxurious 570GT, which anchor the "bottom" of the McLaren lineup while still managing 6-figure price tags. The 570 goes up against the Audi R8 V10, Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2 and Porsche 911 Turbo S with a 165-pound carbon-fiber chassis and 562-horsepower V8 -- that's a best-in-class power-to-weight ratio -- and the handling agility expected from a company with an F1 championship pedigree.

You'll Like This Car If...

If you have plenty of money, love driving, and live in the kind of neighborhood where you'll see yourself coming and going in a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche, then the 2017 McLaren 570S or 570GT is for you.

You May Not Like This Car If...

Even the touring-oriented 570GT isn't exactly luxurious and quiet, and the dihedral doors -- which open up and out -- are a showstopper anywhere you go. If you'd prefer comfort and a bit more anonymity, more traditional grand touring machines are available from Aston Martin or Mercedes-Benz.

What's New for 2017

Joining the 570S this year is the new 570GT, a mechanically similar but more luxurious model boasting a slightly softer suspension and nicer interior. The 570GT also has slightly different bodywork, with an additional cargo area behind the rear seats and a reworked rear end to match.

Driving It

Driving Impressions

“Immediacy” is the watchword when it comes to driving the 2017 McLaren 570S or the 570GT. Whether you're talking about the directness of the steering, the suspension’s connection with the pavement, or the sharpness of the throttle response, the McLaren feels intimately connected with its surroundings. There are three driving modes to manage variables like power delivery and suspension damping, but if you want a real thrill, have the skill to handle a 562-horsepower exotic, and are at a racetrack, holding the ESC button switches on the stability control's Dynamic mode, and unleashes the McLaren's ability to slide the tail out and drift through corners. When you tap into the McLaren 570S's or 570GT's full spectrum of horsepower and handling, it reveals the core of the McLaren brand: a Formula 1-inspired high-performance driving experience that extends from the aluminum cockpit controls to the crystal-clear seat-of-the-pants feedback.

Favorite Features

CARBON-FIBER CHASSIS
The carbon-fiber chassis of the McLaren 570S means the car weighs very little, relatively speaking, with a curb weight of 3,186 pounds. This light weight helps it accelerate more quickly, stop shorter and handle better -- essentially making it a better sports car.

7-SPEED TWIN-CLUTCH TRANSMISSION
A star is no good without a decent supporting cast, and while the V8's prodigious power gives it top billing, the 7-speed transmission is what gives the driver the control needed to make it all work, making the engine shine without being distracting, making it the real powertrain hero.

Vehicle Details

Interior

The interiors on the 2017 McLaren 570S and 570GT are notably different. The 570S is surprisingly minimalist, with a TFT (thin-film-transistor) LCD display offering faithful re-creations of analog gauges and a single multimedia touch screen floating over a spacious area between the seats. Its available Nappa leather and Alcantara surfaces fill in the negative spaces, elegantly combining form and function. The 570GT makes the fancy leather standard, and adds a few unique touches, primarily additional luggage space behind the rear seats under the new hatch, and a very cool panoramic glass roof.

Exterior

The McLaren 570's styling is restrained in the same way a Category 1 hurricane is more restrained than a Category 5. It's not as wild as a McLaren P1 or even the 650S, but there's still a whirlwind of design. The biggest difference between the 570S and 570GT is the latter's rear styling, which incorporates a hatch for additional cargo. It's beautifully integrated, however, and complements the lines beautifully. And there are a lot of lines, from the various vents front and rear and along the sides. Then there are the signature McLaren "dihedral" doors, which open dramatically up and out.

Notable Standard Equipment

Every McLaren 570S and 570GT comes with the same drivetrain configuration; the less powerful 540C is not available in the U.S. They all come similarly equipped with an electronically adjustable suspension, LED lights front and rear, leather interior, and a touch-screen infotainment screen with satellite radio and Bluetooth. The 570GT comes standard with nicer leather inside, plus the additional cargo space afforded by the area under the hatch.

Notable Optional Equipment

Besides choosing between the McLaren 570S and the more livable 570GT, there are plenty of options awaiting potential McLaren owners. Most are aesthetic, like the numerous wheel options, which include Super-Lightweight Forged wheels costing about $3,500. Carbon-fiber adornments can be ordered a la carte -- from side skirts to a rear deck to door mirrors -- or in packages ranging to nearly $10,000. For the 570S we recommend the upgraded leather interior (it's standard on the GT), and the Sports Exhaust competes with the 12-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system for Most Amazing Thing You'll Hear Today.

Under the Hood

The 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 behind the seats in the McLaren 570S and 570GT shares its displacement and configuration with the 650S. The 570 version has about 30-percent new parts, among which are equal-length exhaust manifolds that give the car a more mechanical, aircraft-like sound. The V8 mates to a 7-speed twin-clutch transmission, and both adjust with the stability-control system using one of three driver-selectable modes: Normal, Track or Sport.

Note: Due to changes in EPA testing to more effectively reflect real-world conditions, some 2017 models show slightly lower fuel-economy scores than their 2016 versions.

Pricing Notes

The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for a 2017 McLaren 570S is about $185,000, putting it above the base price of a Porsche 911 Turbo or Acura NSX (at around $150,000), and below cars like the Ferrari 488 GTB ($242,737) and Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 ($237,250). While options will handily boost the price past $200,000, there aren't quite as many price-inflating features as on a Porsche 911. Not surprisingly, the McLaren 570GT starts higher, at about $200,000. Though exotics in general tend to fare poorly in the area of residuals, we anticipate the 570S to retain more of its value than the $80,000 more expensive McLaren 650S model due to higher demand for the 570S and 570GT.